Greetings,
I have mentioned on a few occasions that I can be a Tyler Perry fan. So it seems only right that the first time I review a play it would be one of his, namely The Marriage Counselor. Now I must first say that I did not have the opportunity to see this play live in a theater, and, though I would someday love to do so, I have never seen any of his plays in that manner either. But being the nice guy that he is, Mr. Perry puts the performances of his plays on DVD so everyone can see them. Therefore, this is technically a play on DVD review.
For those of you who don't know, there are a few differences between the plays and the movies of Tyler Perry. The plays tend to be longer, and they feature a lot of music, original songs, classics and gospel. It's a show, basically, and I can certainly understand why. People pay more to see a play than a movie, so they want to get their money's worth, and they do. Also, the movies that share titles with a particular play aren't exactly the same story. Mr. Perry tends to take elements of different plays and put them together for the plot of the movie. For example, his Madea's Big Happy Family movie had the main plot of the play of the same name as well as some things from his play What's Done in the Dark. I don't why he does it like that, but people, including myself, do like them, so let him do it. Okay, the play.
The Marriage Counselor in this story is named Judith, and she lives with her husband, Roger, her mother, T.T., and her father-in-law, Floyd, who had to move in after Hurricane Katrina. The marriage of Judith and Roger is a bit stressed because of a few things, like their parents living with them and their respective work loads. Though Judith works a lot as well, she begins to feel neglected by her husband due to his job and his financial concerns. This poses some extra problems when former her boyfriend, Ronald, reenters the picture. That is the core plot of the story, but there are some peripheral things happening which serve to be very entertaining.
As we are exposed to Judith's work life, we get to meet some of her patients, specifically, two couples. One is Oscar and Michelle, whose problems stem mostly from Oscar being dissatisfied with Michelle's appearance. The other is Tank and Patrice. Tank is a pastor and his new wife Patrice is a former stripper, or as she would say, "Exotic dancer, boo!" Mm-hmm. We also meet an office cleaner named Lisa, who has some serious problems of her own, and Judith's very inquisitive and spirited receptionist, Becky. She is the lone white girl, and I only bring this up because the characters do it quite often in the play. It's practically a plot point.
Throughout the play, Judith's personal and professional lives intertwine. This is how it succeeds in strongly building the story. Everything interconnects very well, and it seems very true to the way our lives tend to work. Okay, now on to speaking about some of the performances.
I can honestly say that there really is not a weak link when it comes to the actors. Everyone plays their roles as they should be played but takes them to a special level that makes us feel invested in all of them and their stories. However, there are three particular people who I think stood out best.
First is Brandi Milton. She plays Patrice, and, though the performance is over the top, you really feel like that was the best thing she could have done. And when it comes to the rare quiet moments of the character, she manages to handle that very well. Next is Palmer Williams, Jr. as Floyd. Most of this performance consists of him fighting with T.T. and being high from his home grown pot. Yes, you read that correctly. Call it cliche if you must, but the man played this part brilliantly, to say nothing of his ability to convincingly turn an R&B song into a gospel song. Just Add Jesus. Finally, we have my girl Stephanie Ferrett. She plays Becky, and she pretty much stole the show, in my opinion. About her acting, first, she truly made this character a "character", and her delivery was hilarious. But as great as her talent is as an actress, it pales in comparison to her gift as a singer. In the plays of Tyler Perry, we are usually treated to a group, medley, singalong type of scene, and it is there that we get to hear Miss Stephanie knock everyone out of their seats. The scene is pretty far into the play, and after getting to know the character, I don't think anyone saw that coming. But I'm certainly glad it did, so may I suggest you YouTube this girl. She is amazing.
And so there you have my first review of a play. I would certainly recommend this to anyone who enjoys Tyler Perry's movies, because here you really do get the entertainment and the message we have all come to expect from him. And despite the fact that there is no Madea in this one, it is still quite enjoyable. Actually, I like that it shows how well he can produce a play without his most famous character. It proves that there is more to him than that one thing.
Now there is currently a movie being made that is based on this play, or at least, it shares the title. There has been a bit of buzz due to the "controversy" of Mr. Perry casting Kim Kardashian. I guess some of his fans don't exactly like her. Do I? Well, as a Christian, I love her with the love of the Lord, just like I am supposed to do with everybody in the world. So . . . that's my answer. I have no idea how much of the story of the play will infiltrate the movie, but if it is just as good, I will certainly have to see it.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
